Emergency access to an inactive vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2018284765-A1
Application number	US-201715720163-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 29, 2017
Priority date	Sep 30, 2016
Publication date	Oct 4, 2018
Grant date	—

Abstract

In certain embodiments, a computer-implemented method of providing vehicle access can include receiving, from a user, a request to access a vehicle, determining whether the user is one of a set of approved users, determining a type of the request, and granting the user a limited-access to the vehicle when the user is not one of the set of approved users and the type of request is an emergency access request. The request can be received from a mobile computing device, such as a smart phone, laptop computer, wearable (e.g., smart watch), or other suitable computing device. In some cases, the request can further include an access code assigned to the user, an indication that an emergency button is activated on the mobile computing device, or an indication that an emergency 9-1-1 call has been made within a threshold period of time by the mobile computing device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A computer-implemented method of providing vehicle access, the method comprising:
receiving, from a user, a request to access a vehicle; determining whether the user is one of a set of approved users; determining a type of the request; and granting the user a limited-access to the vehicle when:
the user is not one of the set of approved users; and
the type of the request is an emergency access request.

2 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the request is received from a mobile computing device.

3 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 further comprising:
receiving data corresponding to an identity of the user from the mobile computing device.

4 . The computer-implemented method of claim 2 wherein the request further includes at least one of:
an access code assigned to the user, the access code associated with gaining user access to user-non-approved vehicles under an emergency condition;
an indication that an emergency button is activated on the mobile computing device; or
an indication that an emergency 9-1-1 call has been made within a threshold period of time by the mobile computing device.

5 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the request includes biometrics data corresponding to the user.

6 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 wherein the biometrics data includes at least one of:
fingerprint data;
iris data;
facial recognition data; or
DNA data.

7 . The computer-implemented method of claim 5 further comprising:
sending the biometrics data to an authentication server; and
receiving confirmation that the biometrics data corresponds to the user,
wherein granting the user limited-access is further based on receiving the confirmation that the biometrics data corresponds to the user.

8 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein determining the type of the request includes determining whether the request is at least one of a normal access request or an emergency access request.

9 . The computer-implemented method of claim 1 wherein the limited-access to the vehicle includes initiating an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) to automatically drive the user to one of a predetermined set of destinations.

10 . The computer-implemented method of claim 9 wherein the limited-access to the vehicle prevents manual control of the vehicle by the user.

11 . The computer-implemented method of claim 10 further comprising:
contacting an owner of the vehicle; and
informing the owner that the vehicle is in use by the user.

12 . The computer-implemented method of claim 11 wherein informing the owner that the vehicle is in use by the user further includes at least one of:
providing an identity of the user; or
providing which of the predetermined set of destinations has been selected by the user.

13 . The computer-implemented method of claim 9 further comprising:
receiving, from the user, a selection of one of the predetermined set of destinations;
contacting a person or entity associated with the selected destination of the predetermined set of destinations; and
providing user data to the contacted person or entity, the user data corresponding to the emergency access request.

14 . The computer-implemented method of claim 13 wherein the user data corresponding to the emergency access request includes at least one of:
image data of the user, the image data generated by one or more image sensors in the vehicle; or
audio data of the user, the audio data generated by one or more microphones in the vehicle.

15 . A system comprising:
one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums containing instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations including: receiving, from a user, a request to access a vehicle; determining whether the user is one of a set of approved users; determining a type of the request; and granting the user a limited-access to the vehicle when:
the user is not one of the set of approved users; and
the type of the request is an emergency access request.

16 . The system of claim 15 wherein the request further includes at least one of:
an access code assigned to the user, the access code associated with gaining user access to user-non-approved vehicles under an emergency condition;
an indication that an emergency button is activated on a mobile computing device; or
an indication that an emergency 9-1-1 call has been made within a threshold period of time by the mobile computing device.

17 . The system of claim 15 further containing instructions configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations including:
contacting an owner of the vehicle; and
informing the owner that the vehicle is in use by the user.

18 . The system of claim 17 wherein informing the owner that the vehicle is in use by the user further includes at least one of:
providing an identity of the user; or
providing which of a predetermined set of destinations has been selected by the user.

19 . A computer-implemented method of providing vehicle access, the method comprising:
means for receiving, from a user, a request to access a vehicle; means for determining whether the user is one of a set of approved users; means for determining a type of the request; and means for granting the user a limited-access to the vehicle when:
the user is not one of the set of approved users; and
the type of the request is an emergency access request.

Assignees

• Faraday&Future Inc

Inventors

• Brouwer Michael Lambertus Hubertus
• Konecki Andrew Wayne

Classifications

• B60R25/241 Primary

  whereby access privileges are related to the identifiers · CPC title

• H04W4/90

  Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS] · CPC title

• A61B5/1171

  based on the shapes or appearances of their bodies or parts thereof · CPC title

• G05D1/0061 Primary

  for transition from automatic pilot to manual pilot and vice versa · CPC title

• B60R25/102

  a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner · CPC title